Let It Snow
by aussiebabe290
Summary: 25 days of Jeca Christmas drabbles/oneshots. Fluffy, holiday fun with our favourite Treblemaker, favourite Bella and the rest of their motley crew.
1. Chapter 1

**Hot Cocoa**

"Good morning!" Jesse called cheerfully, as Beca shuffled towards the station, her hat pulled down over her ears and her cheeks rosy red. "Merry Christmas!"

"Look, I love Christmas", she informed him, pushing the door open for them. "But you are on a whole new level my friend. It's December two".

"Aw, see I told you we'd be become best friends! Best friends and or lovers", he nodded, holding out the takeaway cup. "Here you go Bec".

"What's this?" she said, almost suspiciously.

"Hot cocoa!" he said with a grin wide enough to crack his face in half. "Don't fret Bec, just drink it".

Somehow, and Beca didn't know when, but Jesse had taken to bringing the two of them coffee in the mornings. And in turn, she'd do the afternoon shift. But it had been two days since their last shift together,

"They've got the Christmas cups out, have they?"She raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of the warm drink and smiling a little.

The bright red takeaway cups with holly prints had made Jesse's day so much better. And he had told the little old lady who served him every morning at the cafe, who had grinned at him ("this will make your little friend happy", she had told him with a smile).

"Everything tastes better in a Christmas cup", he informed her.

"Dude it's barely December".

"Dude I don't care". Jesse grinned at her and Beca tried to bite back her smile. "Hey, she was right!"

"Wait, what?" Beca took another sip, sitting it on the bench.

"Never mind". He grinned. "You've got another seventeen days of holiday themed cups, Bec".

"Better brace myself", she said, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Carolling**

"I ain't goin'".

Beca crossed her arms across her chest firmly, and Aubrey glared at her.

"Its Bellas tradition, Beca!" she snapped.

There were way too many traditions for her liking. If she was being real, she liked none of them. And yet, there she was, being hauled into every single one of them. She had been tricked out of her bed, hearing something about an emergency Bellas meeting, and then informed they were going carolling.

"Put your hat on", Aubrey snapped, and Beca glared at her.

"Put your hat on Beca, its cold", Chloe said helpfully, yanking Stacie's zipper up further. "Stacie".

"How do things like this happen?" Beca wanted to know, as she buttoned up her coat.

"Hat, Beca".

They were going carolling. They were going to trudge around Barden University in the slush (it wasn't real snow, and there was nothing that Jesse Swanson could tell her to convince her otherwise) and sing to people who already hated them. And Beca was being hauled along for the freak fest.

"Okay, our first song is going to be Baby Its Cold Outside", Aubrey announced, pulling the rehearsal space door shut. "Let's go!"

* * *

"Hey Beca!" Jesse said in surprise, as they shuffled past the radio station. "What's happening?"

Beca broke away from the group, rubbing her hands together. "We're carolling. We're carolling as a group because apparently, we do things like this. Why do we do things like this? I didn't agree to this, Swanson".

There were a lot of things she didn't agree to. And somehow every single one of them revolved around Aubrey Posen.

Jesse couldn't help but laugh. "Beca the Bella's been recruited for carolling. Never thought I'd see the day!"

"Keep up!" Aubrey barked, and Jesse fell into step with Beca, Stacie shooting the two of them a knowing wink.

"Didn't know you were working tonight", she commented.

"Oh I am so glad I was", he chuckled. "Otherwise I'd miss this and that would be such a shame!"

"You're so horrible", she chattered, a shiver running down her spine.

"What's the Treblemaker doing here?" Aubrey suddenly shrieked, spinning around and screeching to a stop.

"Nice to see you too Aubrey", Jesse said pleasantly.

"This is a Bellas tradition! There's no Treblemakers!"

"Well I am very glad for that", he said, trying to keep his face as still as possible (Beca audibly snorted). "Although the Treblemakers could beat you all in and a Capella carol sing off".

"No!" Beca smacked his chest with her gloved hand. "Don't give her any ideas!"

"He can join us", Chloe decided, grinning at the way that Beca was looking at him, and Beca pulled her scarf up a little higher to hide her smirk from Aubrey.


	3. Chapter 3

**Candy Canes**

The candy canes were out the moment Halloween was over. Maybe even before, but Beca wasn't sure.

All she knew that on the morning of November first, she found a candy cane in her backpack.

(She wasn't going to complain, candy canes were her favourite kind of Christmas candy.)

That continued for ten days until she began to get a little suspicious. They appeared, just like the juice pouches the Treblemaker managed to sneak in. So she decided to take matters into her own hands and wait.

"Jesse".

"Holy crap!"

Jesse jumped backwards, not expecting Beca to be hiding behind a Justin Beiber record (he expected her to have a little more taste).

"What's with the candy canes, huh?" she raised her eyebrows and he laughed.

"You like candy canes, do you?"

"My favourites are the red ones". And she turned on her heels, her cheeks pink.

That was just another piece of information he could file away in his Beca memory. Her favourite flavour juice pouch was strawberry kiwi; her favourite candy cane flavour was red.

Maybe at some point she'd let him in on a little more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sweaters and Scarves**

"We are not making this an annual thing", Beca argued, hands on her hip. "This isn't even a thing!"

While Beca stacked CDs at the radio station, Jesse had been busy working. Only what she thought was his psychology essay turned out to be invitations to the first annual Barden Bellas and Barden Treblemakers ugly sweater Christmas party.

"This is so a thing!" Jesse said brightly, waving the invitation in her face. "Who's excited? I am! This is the greatest idea I've ever had".

"You say that all the time", Beca reminded him. "And your ideas are never good".

"Whoa, Bec!" he held up his hands in defence. "My ideas aren't all bad!"

"They are almost all bad", she informed him. "Sorry to burst your bubble buddy".

Even after telling him that, she found herself setting out a plate of crackers, wearing the world's ugliest sweater (Jesse had called on the assistance of his mother, and she had certainly delivered).

"Worst idea ever", she informed him, trying her best to hold back a smile at the excitement on his face.

"BEST IDEA EVER!" Fat Amy burst through the door, dressed in a red and green mess.

Fat Amy was even more excited than Jesse, it turned out, because when they were freezing through Christmas, Fat Amy had been sweltering in the Australian sun and had never had the chance to wear an ugly Christmas sweater ("because I'd goddamn melt", she'd said, perhaps a little too cheerfully).

* * *

They laughed, they joked, they belted the Christmas carols obnoxiously loud and off key (for a group that had made the Nationals in an a capella competition they were singing awfully) and ate way too much (although Fat Amy had bellowed with a gingerbread man stuffed in her mouth "why didn't we have a cookie decorating party?" to which Jesse had hollered "that's for next year!" back at her).

"Still my worst idea ever Beca?" Jesse wanted to know, plucking at Beca's terrible sweater and making her smack his hand away.

"The jury's still out on that one". And Beca, spying the mistletoe above them, wrapped her arms around his neck.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ice Skating**

"I haven't been ice skating since I was a kid", Beca admitted, and Jesse squeezed her gloved hand gently.

"I love skating".

"Jesus, Jess, there's not much you don't love". And as hard as she tried, she couldn't roll her eyes that time.

By some miracle of God, he had convinced Beca to join him and his family in New York for Christmas. He didn't know how he had managed it, and it was likely that he'd never be able to pull something like that off again, but she was there.

And that was why they were taking the opportunity to explore the city, three nights before Christmas. It was crowded and noisy and Beca shone the brightest of them all (Jesse had Instagrammed a photo that Beca hadn't even realised he'd taken, 'Times Square can't shine as bright as her'). They'd wandered the streets and bought cheap Broadway tickets and tried roasted chestnuts ("oh my God that's disgusting", Beca had choked out, and Jesse laughed before passing them off to a homeless man) and eaten loaded New York hotdogs for dinner. And then they'd found themselves at Rockefeller Centre, lit up by the millions of Christmas lights.

"Let's go", Jesse said, clumsily lacing his skates and standing up. Beca grabbed his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. "Careful Bec".

The two of them, hand in hand, stomped through the slush towards the ice, slipping and sliding a little, before stepping onto the ice.

"It's really pretty", Beca admitted, holding onto Jesse's hand a little tighter than she would have liked to, letting go of the railing. "The lights on the ice, it's almost beautiful".

"Can't call something beautiful, you're Beca Mitchell!" he grinned.

She scrunched her nose up at him. "Weirdo".

Jesse wrapped an arm around her, giving her a slight push and making her squeal.

"Jesse!"

"Its okay I know what I'm doing!" he assured her. "I always take Brielle skating".

"She's like three".

"She's like five", Jesse corrected. "And she loves you. You need to relax, my family love you, and they're really happy you're here".

Beca mumbled something so quietly that Jesse strained to hear over the hubbub of the city at night.

"What?"

"I'm glad I'm here too", Beca said quietly and he grinned, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Hey Beca, want to attempt the Dirty Dancing lift?"

(He'd introduced her to Dirty Dancing the night before they made the trip to New York, and she was almost ashamed to say that she hadn't totally hated it.)

"Are you fucking insane?" Beca almost squawked. "That's how I would die. Here lies Beca Mitchell, because her boyfriend had a stupid idea".

He just laughed, pressing a kiss to her pink nose. "Merry Christmas weirdo".

And Beca couldn't hide her smile. "Merry Christmas nerd".


	6. Chapter 6

**Shiver**

Beca trudged towards the station, her hands jammed in her pocket and her pink nose sticking out from underneath her scarf and coat.

"Little cold, Bec?" Jesse said pleasantly, as she shoved the door open.

"Its even colder in here!" she almost wailed, dropping her backpack in the corner.

"Oh yeah, heat's broken". He nodded. "You cold are you?"

Her teeth were chattering as she eased her gloves off her fingers, shivering slightly.

"It's because you're so tiny", he followed up, and she frowned at him.

"It's below freezing outside".

"That's an exaggeration". He rolled her eyes (he had been spending too much time with her, it was so obvious). "Its not that cold- hey, I thought all of Aubrey's cardio would have warmed you up".

"The only cardio I did this morning was run out of fucks to give about her cardio". Beca rolled her eyes, shivering.

"Are you really that cold?" he wanted to know, as Beca plucked her hat off her head (revealing a nice case of hat hair, not that he'd ever tell her that. He liked his life).

"No, I'm actually really warm under two coats and long sleeves". She furrowed her brow at him. "Jesse, its winter".

She picked up a stack of CDs, taking them towards the shelf opposite Jesse. He watched her in silence for a minute, before shrugging off his coat and draping it over her shoulders.

"What-"

"You need it more than I do", he said gently.

"Thanks weirdo". And she leaned into his embrace for half a second, making him smile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Snowball Fight**

Beca let out a shriek as snow hit her back, slamming her driver's side door and spinning around. She found herself facing her husband, grinning cheerily and patting a lump of snow between his hands.

"Hey Bec!" he said cheerfully, tossing the snowball back and forth. "How was work?"

"Oh you're on", she almost snapped, bending down and scooping up her own chunk of snow. Patting it between her hands, she hurled it at Jesse, missing him by a mile and making him laugh. "Just how long have you been waiting there, Swanson?"

"Long enough", he retorted, as another ball of snow sailed through the air, missing Beca by half an inch.

(He wasn't about to admit to his wife that he'd been hiding behind the garbage bin for the last three hours. His butt was just about frozen solid, and he couldn't feel his toes, but he wasn't going to admit that to him.)

"Hey!" she squawked. She knelt down, patting a chunk of snow between her hands. "You are THE WORST!"

He had been planning that ambush for weeks, and she knew it. Every morning he'd stick his head out the bedroom window and assess the snowfall, jabbering on about how he couldn't wait to build a snowman and make snow angels (Beca had been making pancakes that morning while he made his daily speech and she rolled her eyes so hard they almost fell out of her head. "You are five years old").

"you are such a child!" she continued, patting the snow between her hands. "you have probably been sitting there since I left for work this morning- do you even GO to work?" and with that comment, she hurled the snow at him, smacking him straight in the chest.

"You've been working on your aim!" he hollered back proudly, scooping an armful of snow from the ground.

Beca's eyes widened as he advanced towards her, dumping the snow down her front. She screeched, leaping onto Jesse's back and using the arm she wasn't clinging to his neck with to fish the snow from her coat and squash it down his shirt.

"You're such mature adults". A voice broke through their argument and Jesse stopped flinging Beca around long enough to notice Aubrey standing at their letterbox.

"What do you want, Posen?" Beca said breathlessly, climbing off her husband's back.

"Well I was going to give you your official Christmas party invite, but its clear I've interrupted something". Aubrey shrugged and Jesse accepted the envelope, tucking it into his coat pocket. "As you were".

"You're such a jerk!" Beca exploded, flinging a handful of snow at him, and Jesse laughed, flicking the white flakes at her in return.


	8. Chapter 8

**Mistletoe**

There was a sprig of mistletoe hanging over the door of the station, on the day of their last shift of the year. More specifically, there was a sprig of mistletoe hanging over the door of the booth.

So Beca had her guard up.

"What the hell is that?" Jesse said in disgust, tossing his backpack down. "What happened to no sex on the desk?"

"That's the same thing", Beca agreed, from where she was perched on the upper level of the station.

"Guy's a dick".

"Never thought I'd see the day where you didn't like someone, weirdo".

"He thinks I'm his lunch bitch. I'm no one's bitch!"

"Please, someone says jump and you say how high". Beca grinned.

He snorted at her.

"You're in a bad mood today", she observed.

"Luke's a douche".

"Obviously", Beca snorted back at him.

The two bickered playfully for the next three hours, before Beca shoved the last CD into the shelf.

"Alright, that's me out". She picked up her backpack, before frowning a little at the brightly coloured gift under the tiny Christmas tree. "What's this?"

"Merry Christmas Beca", he said gently.

She shrugged off her backpack, holding out a brown paper wrapped box, coloured twine twisted into a bow. "Merry Christmas Jesse".

And then she realised where she was standing. She was positioned right under the mistletoe.

She froze.

Jesse saw her glance up, seeing how visibly uncomfortable she was.

"Merry Christmas weirdo", he said again, kissing the top of her head.

"Merry Christmas nerd".


	9. Chapter 9

**Snow Day**

"Bec!"

Beca woke up to find Jesse half an inch from her face, grinning maniacally.

"Jesus!" she almost jumped, sitting bolt upright in the bed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Snow day!"

And Jesse jumped off the bed, ripping open the curtains to display a sheet of white, covering their front yard, driveway and both their cars.

"Snow day!" he repeated. "How cool is this?"

Snow days had been his favourite thing when he was a kid. He lived for the moment when he heard that school was cancelled. But, as an adult, snow days were rare. He still had to suffer through work even in the snow.

"Jesse, you're a grown man", she reminded him, yawning a little.

"We are having the day off!" he declared. "We are grown adults and if we want to take a snow day, we're gonna take a snow day!"

"Are we really gonna play hooky because of the snow?" she checked.

"You bet we are!"

And that was how Beca found herself cupping a mug of hot chocolate with a huge bowl of popcorn in front of her, sitting in a blanket fort (he was five years old) while Jesse selected a Christmas movie for them to watch.

"The Grinch", he said finally, holding up the case. "Remind you of anyone, Beca?"

"I'm leaving you". But her eyes sparkled and he laughed.

* * *

They spent the day watching movies sitting in the pillow fort (Beca wondered how early he got up in order to make it, considering he woke her up at the as crack of dawn), eating popcorn and marshmallows and drinking hot cocoa, and when that got old, they went outside to play in the snow ("because we're grown adults", Beca deadpanned, as she wrapped her scarf around her neck).

* * *

"You have to admit, this was the best day", Jesse said, as he pulled the blankets over the two of them. Beca's eyes were droopy as she lay against her pillow, nodding. "We should play hooky more often".

"You're such a child", Beca said again, before her eyes closed for the last time that night.

"But you love me", Jesse said softly, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Good night Beca".


	10. Chapter 10

**Secret Santa**

Beca was stuck. Out of all the people in the world to get for her secret Santa, she had pulled Aubrey Posen's name out of the hat.

"What's eating you?" Jesse broke through her thoughts.

"We did our secret Santa today". She sighed heavily, shoving Justin Beiber into the shelf. "And guess who I got".

He was fairly sure he knew who she'd gotten, judging by the pained expression on her face. "Aubrey Posen herself".

"Got it in one". She nodded.

"Wanna know who I got?"

She nodded.

"Bumper Allen".

Beca groaned, laughing a little.

"We did good, hey?" he smiled at her.

"Freaking typical". She shook her head. "Well, now I've got to work out what to get the dictator".

"Beca".

"You aren't there last Saturday". Beca shuddered at the memory. "You know I can still hear her screaming in my dreams?"

He laughed. "Leave it to me, Bec", he promised. "I'll work something out".

* * *

Beca visibly jumped when she heard a car horn, trudging home from Bellas practice.

"Get in loser we're going shopping".

"What did you just call me?" she snapped, glaring at Jesse, who was grinning smugly from the driver's seat.

"It physically pains me that you, a teenage girl, didn't get that reference". Jesse clutched his heart dramatically. "Get in".

"Where are you taking me?" she wanted to know.

"Well we need to go Christmas shopping. I need to get a present for my best friend and or lover".

"Don't say lover".

"You didn't object to best friend". He beamed at her as she stretched her seatbelt across her chest.

"Jury's still out. What was that reference, anyway?"

"Mean Girls- which we will be watching, FYI. I don't know how you've lived eighteen years without seeing it. That's pathetic".

"Its pathetic you know Mean Girls quotes". But her eyes sparkled and he knew she didn't mean it. "Why couldn't I have gotten Stacie?"

"What would you have gotten her?"

"Condoms and a new nail polish". Beca shrugged. "She's easy to shop for. But nope, I got Aubrey. I'd consider getting her a megaphone but I need my ears for my music, and she'd loud enough already".

Jesse laughed.

(He had a really nice laugh. She'd never really noticed before.)

* * *

It took them forty five minutes to locate a car park within the complex. And then it took Jesse another ten to manoeuvre the car into the spot.

They were halfway around the mall when it occurred to Beca.

"Hey weirdo?"

"Hey what?" he said distractedly, glancing into the widow.

"Where'd you get the car?"

"Hijacked it". He shrugged.

She looked at him.

"It's Donald's. But I've watched enough movies to get away with it".

"You're such a weirdo". And she rolled her eyes, not meaning a second of it.

* * *

"We should get a Santa photo!"

Jesse all but punched Beca in the shoulder to get her attention, making her squeal.

"What? No!"

"Come on, it would make history".

Beca started to chuckle. "Aubrey would toss her cookies for sure".

(He liked her laugh.)

* * *

"Taco Bell, Beca?" Jesse wanted to know, as he reversed the car out of the lines.

"Yes", she said without hesitation. "Wait, how did you know I liked-"

"Beca, that's all you ever eat".

She shrugged. "Not gonna lie".

(He noticed everything about her.)

* * *

"Merry Christmas Aubrey", Beca said, almost pleasantly as she shoved a plain wrapped box at the blonde.

"Thanks Beca!" she said in surprise.

(If she knew that her gift had been selected by a Treblemaker she would flip her shit.)

* * *

"Bumper", Jesse nodded, giving the leader of the Trebles the slightly gaudy gift bag.

There was no way he was going to tell him that a Bella had chosen his gift.


	11. Chapter 11

**Silver and Gold**

While it didn't always seem like it, Beca owned a little bit of jewellery. And depending on her mood, she wore silver or gold. Her earspike (her 'super scary' earspike) was silver, but the jewellery around it was a mixture.

Jesse noticed that.

(Jesse noticed every damn thing about her, much to her displeasure.)

"Why aren't you wearing any holiday jewellery?" he wanted to know, as he handed her a cup of hot cocoa. "Chloe barged past today wearing big ass glowing Santa earrings".

"Because I'm not eleven years old?" she suggested, shrugging. "I don't know, Jesse- I don't think I own any holiday jewellery. And oh my God, they don't just glow, they freaking sing. They match Fat Amy's hat".

(Fat Amy had marched into practice with a hat the size of a small child on her head, which sang and swayed from side to side and glowed. She seemed Chloe seem almost sane.)

"What kind of girl are you?" he almost gasped.

"You know, you ask me that a lot, it's kind of getting old".

He laughed. "Sorry Bec".

* * *

The next day, when she opened her box, she found a tiny paper bag inside. Frowning slightly, she opened it to find a pair of silver snowflake earrings, and two tiny gold reindeer studs.

"Weirdo", she chuckled slightly, placing them in her backpack (she'd throw them in like she did everything else, but that would probably hurt Jesse's feelings. She did that a lot, apparently).

* * *

When Beca walked into the station sporting silver snowflakes, Jesse grinned so hard he thought his face would break.

"What?" she said, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Nothing". And he beamed at her, making her roll her eyes.


	12. Chapter 12

**Fireplace**

"This is gonna be a proper Christmas", Jesse said, sounding satisfied.

"What's wrong with all our other Christmases?" Beca said, almost defensively, folding her arms across her chest.

When Beca and Jesse, at the ripe old age of twenty one, had moved across the country from Barden University in Georgia, to Los Angeles, California, they'd found themselves in a little shoebox sized apartment that wasn't much, but it was home. They'd hung up photographs on the wall, they'd furnished the house to their liking, and they were comfortable.

Only it didn't have a fireplace.

And that was a big no-no in Jesse's book.

Every day of the two Decembers they'd spent in that little shoebox sized apartment (and for a large chunk of the rest of the year), Beca had heard his little grumbles and gripes under his breath about the fact that they didn't have a fireplace.

("We live in freaking California", Beca had grouched to Chloe one day on the phone, as she sat there wrapping her friend's gifts.)

So when they moved back to Georgia, they'd found themselves a house with a fireplace. Jesse had lined up the little ornaments on the mantle above it, having them join the photos that already adorned it, and hung their stockings above it and eagerly lit it by the first winter chill.

"Nothing". He wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her barely-there four month pregnant baby bump. "Next year, we're gonna have a little one running around. How cool is that, Bec? That's gonna be our best Christmas ever".


	13. Chapter 13

**Winter Wonderland**

"Where are we going?" Jesse wanted to know, where he was sitting in the passenger seat of the Mazda with a scarf wrapped around his head.

Jesse was the one to plan elaborate surprises. Beca was not. She was able to surprise him, but she'd never bundled him into the passenger seat and wrapped a scarf around his head and told him to sit still and shut up until they got there.

"Oh my God Jesse, just wait", Beca said calmly, as she weaved through the Los Angeles traffic, six days before Christmas (somehow, it was even worse than usual).

They'd lived in LA for going on a year, and while they loved it- it was everything they'd hoped for- Jesse missed the cold winters. He had grown up in New York, and Beca in Maine, and they were used to bitter winters, not the balmy weather than had them in t-shirts and light cardigans.

So when Beca saw that there was going to be a Winter Wonderland setup in downtown LA, she was going to make the most of it. They were going to set up an ice rink and have a snow machine, and Beca was going to take her cold Christmas loving boyfriend d and set him loose.

"Beca-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Beca almost barked. "We'll be there soon so shut up and enjoy the drive!"

She'd even put his favourite Christmas mix on. She didn't know what else she could do to keep him quiet.

* * *

When Beca allowed him to yank the scarf off his head, he let out the loudest, highest scream that she had ever heard (and she had shared a house with Stacie for the best part of three years). He screamed so loud she actually jumped, and he flung his arms around Beca.

"You're the best!"

"Well, obviously". She nodded, grinning. "Merry Christmas, weirdo".

"Thanks nerd!" dropping a kiss to the top of her head, he ran off like a child, throwing himself into the pile of fake snow with the children.

* * *

 **Please leave a review! Its my birthday :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Gift Wrapping**

"Ready for battle", Beca said to herself, looking down at her end of the table. Laid out in front of her were her rolls of plain wrapping paper (red, green and brown), balls of ribbon, Scotch tape, rubber stamps and ink pads and scissors. Her pile of stamps were sitting on the counter next to the ink pads, and she was ready. A plain black garbage bag of gifts sat beside her on the floor, right in her reach.

And in front of Jesse, at the other end of the table, was brightly coloured, cartooned wrapping paper ("Jesse, I know you love Benji but why do we have so much Star Wars wrapping paper?" "Because I just love Benji, okay Bec, Benji should share his nerd love with everyone"), large stick on bows, scissors and Scotch tape. His large gift tags were sitting on the counter beside Beca's stamps, and he grinned, satisfied. Multiple plastic bags of various colours were sprawled over his side of the kitchen floor, and he was ready.

"Let's do this", Jesse said, nodding at her.

It was the same every year, and had been since their freshman year of college. Beca had slipped a plain wrapped package into his backpack, and Jesse had presented her with an extravagant box, covered in brightly coloured bows and ribbons.

Every year it was the same. Jesse's extravagant packages sat under the tree, beside Beca's plainly wrapped packages, and their friends and family snorted unattractively. Their gifts were so uniquely them and beautifully different, even though they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.

* * *

 **Beca Swanson took a photo with Instagram: ready for battle #TisTheSeason #GiftWrappingBattles #TwoSidesOfTheTable**


	15. Chapter 15

**Ribbons and Bows**

"Dude, what's with all the ribbons?" Beca wanted to know.

While they hadn't gone the whole hog and bought combined presents, the two of them were holed up in the Bellas rehearsal space, after spending the entire day Christmas shopping together (although Jesse believed that he was doing the shopping and she was doing the complaining, but whatever). And it was at that moment that Beca realised how truly different they were.

There were just so many bows.

"That looks like something Sheila would present me with", she added as an afterthought.

"What, no stepmonster?"

"It's the holidays; I'm trying to be nice".

"Very good Bec". He nodded. "Very nice".

"What the hell is that?" she said suddenly.

"No, don't look!"

"Is that our faces on a cup? What the fuck is that meant to be Jesse?"

"Well that was meant to be your surprise but now you've ruined it", he almost sulked. "And it's not just a cup, Beca; it's a left handed mug".

"The fuck is a left handed mug?"

"It's a mug for left handed people Beca, we have matching ones. It was meant to be a surprise".

She shook her head in amusement, wanting to sigh heavily but choosing not to.

(It had the biggest bow of them all.)


	16. Chapter 16

**Gingerbread**

"What's happening in here?" Jesse wanted to know, as he tossed aside his backpack.

Beca was an average cook, she said so herself. But she was an above average baker. Maybe even a good one. She like the precision of recipes, and liked to follow it to a T (unlike when she was cooking, where she threw everything into the pan and hoped for the best).

Their kitchen was covered in a light dusting of flour- as was Beca's face. She was standing there, with her hair up in a messy bun, flour handprints covering her apron and tights, holding a cookie cutter.

"Hey!" she said brightly.

"What's happening?" he repeated.

"Makin' some Christmas cookies". She shrugged, setting down her cookie cutter to kiss him in greeting.

"Looks like you've made enough to feed all of Cali". He chuckled slightly, and she frowned at him, before pulling a tray from the oven. "Hey, you haven't decorated anything yet".

"Yeah well I was waiting for you!"

"Sorry, not everyone finished work three weeks early- it makes me wonder, do you even work?" his eyes twinkled playfully, as he picked up a gingerbread man, and bit off his legs.

"Jesse, that's not the humane way to eat a gingerbread man", she scoffed.

He'd known Beca for a long time, and at that moment that was the weirdest thing he'd heard her say. And that was really saying something, because Beca had come out with some classics in their time together.

"There's a humane way to eat a gingerbread man?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Everyone knows you bite the head off first". She leaned across the counter, crunching down on the head of Jesse's gingerbread man.

"Beca!" he complained. "You've made three million cookies and you want mine?"

"That's just something you're gonna have to deal with Swanson". She shrugged, chewing cheerfully.

He laughed, reaching over and brushing the flour off his face. "You're such a weirdo".


	17. Chapter 17

**Christmas Tree**

"We need a real tree", Jesse complained. "We've got all these decorations and we don't have a real tree to put them on".

"Jesse", Beca said, as patiently as she could muster for someone who had been hearing the same complaints for three solid months. "Our apartment is the size of a shoebox. We are dead broke".

"We need a real tree", he protested.

And that was how Beca found herself sitting in the passenger seat of the Mazda, driving through Los Angeles in peak hour traffic, to find a Christmas tree.

"Just FYI, its LA", she reminded him, and Jesse chose to turn up the Christmas carols on the radio.

"FYI, I don't care", he retorted.

"Let's get this tree", Beca suggested.

"Beca, it's shorter than you. I like this one!"

"That's taller than me".

"Well that's not hard; you're shorter than Beyonce's hair".

"Jerk!" she smacked his chest and he laughed. "Let's get this one".

"It looks sick".

"Are you going to have a problem with every tree?"

"We need a good looking, sturdy tree to mark our first LA Christmas. It's monumental, Beca! This is an important moment in our lives; we are going to remember this forever. I'm going to make a scrapbook".

"You don't scrapbook".

"I'm going to learn how to scrapbook to commemorate this occasion".

Beca rolled her eyes, but it was hard to wipe the smile from her face.

"CHECK OUT THIS TREE!"

"Shit, man, everyone in Georgia can hear you!"

"Well they're gonna be hearing me when they're here for Christmas! Look at the tree Beca! It looks so good!"

"it does look pretty good", she admitted and he wrapped his arms around her neck, swinging her around.

"Now it's a real Christmas!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Snowman**

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

When Jesse opened his eyes that snowy December morning, he heard the sound of his wife and daughters singing, their sweet voices drifting towards the bedroom from the kitchen. Creeping down the hallway, he watched from the doorway, as Beca twirled them around by their fingertips, laughing as Molly and Abigail squealed with excitement.

"Do you wanna build a snowman? Come on let's go and play!"

Abigail saw him first and let go of Beca, screaming and throwing her arms around Jesse's waist. "Daddy!"

"Hey Abs!" he lifted her into his arms, ruffling Molly's messy curls as she joined the pair of them. "Morning Molls, hey Bec". He leaned over and pecked a kiss to her lips, smiling at her. "We're building a snowman, are we?"

"Look outside Dad!" Molly said excitedly, pointing through the glass. "There's SO much snow!"

"It SNOWED!" Abigail agreed.

"Well then we better go and build a snowman!" he said in alarm, his eyes widening comically and making the kids shriek with excitement. "Let's go!"

"Jackets!" Beca called as the two girls took off down the hallway. "Hats! Girls go and get dressed!"

Jesse plucked the girls coats off the hooks in the hallway, pulling them close and zipping them inside, as Molly and Abigail shoved their bare feet into their boots.

"Let's go!" Jesse cheered, shoving open the door.


	19. Chapter 19

**Angel**

It was tradition in Jesse's household to spend Christmas Eve out in the snow, while the adults in the house did the final preparations. And despite being a technical adult, he had Beca there and he had a handful of young cousins that needed entertaining.

"Beca, come with me!" Brielle cheered, and Beca gingerly took the three year old's hand. "Let's go to the snow!"

"Come on Brie", Jesse laughed. "Let's go Bec. Jace, my man, get your hat".

The four of them traipsed out the front door, calling their goodbyes to Jesse's family, as the two little ones threw themself into the snow.

"You can't say you don't love this", Jesse laughed, as Beca helped Brielle pat the body of a snowman (they'd tried to build one the night before but had been called in before they could finish it).

She wasn't about to deny it. She'd never been one who gravitated towards children, and she had children around her. She was an only child and was the youngest of her cousins (she was the one putting on coffee table performances for them). But she had to admit, it was nice to be adored by a small person (her name fitted perfectly into the three year old's mouth).

"Hey BRIE!" Jace shrieked. "Let's make snow angels!"

Brielle dropped Beca's hand, running over to her brother and tossing herself down beside him.

"Jesse!" she screamed (for such a small person, she was very loud). "You and Beca need to make snow angels too!"

So the two of them lay down on the snowy ground, starfished out to leave their prints in the snow.

"This is so cool", the three year old said breathlessly.


	20. Chapter 20

**Eggnog**

"Whassup weirdo?" Jesse called. "We've got graveyard shift!"

"I know". Beca yawned. "Let's get this shit over with".

"Aren't you happy today". He grinned at her and Beca threw her backpack in the corner, ignoring him.

Beca didn't mind night shift. Perhaps she was a night owl, maybe she liked messing around with her mixes on the radio when Luke wasn't around. And maybe she liked the company when Jesse was rostered on at the same time as her.

"I've bought us a Christmas feast", he informed her suddenly, opening his backpack.

"Oh what the hell is this?" she wanted to know, as Jesse began unloading Tupperware containers. "Are you serious?"

"Christmas dinner!" he said triumphantly, opening up the containers and pulling the paper plates and cups from his backpack. "Considering we aren't going to be together for Christmas, and as best friends and or lovers-"

"Don't say lovers".

"We should share Christmas together".

Beca opened her backpack, pulling out a bag of donuts she had gotten from the cafe that afternoon. "If you've got dinner then I guess I've got dessert".

(If Aubrey knew that they were having Christmas dinner together, she would have dropped dead on the spot.)

That night, Beca loaded a USB and let it play, while she and Jesse sat on the blanket (from that first morning on the quad, apparently, because he carried around a big ass blanket) and shared Christmas dinner.

Aubrey was going to kill her, she silently declared, as they clinked their paper cups of eggnog together.


	21. Chapter 21

**Family**

"It's Christmas!"

"Christmas!"

It was five a.m. Beca knew because she'd been awake since three, listening to the giggling of two little girls who shared the bedroom down the hall. Molly and Abigail were the best of friends and the worst of enemies, and they were insistent on starting Christmas early.

Beca wanted to wait until a semi-decent hour.

Jesse was ready to start Christmas at three a.m.

"Hi girls!" he said brightly, as the two launched themselves onto the bed. He grabbed Abigail with his left arm and Molly with his right, pulling them closer and peppering them with kisses.

"Did Santa come?"

"Can we get up now?"

Beca yawned heavily, knowing that her battle was lost. "Let's go".

By seven a.m, the kids' Santa presents had been torn into and their entire family had arrived. All of the Bellas (the girls' aunts) and all of the Treblemakers (the kids beloved uncles), laden down with presents to spoil Molly and Abigail silly. Their living room was a mess of boxes and wrapping paper, and full of excited screams and laughter from everyone involved.

Sometimes Beca wished she could sleep in, just a little. Just until it was daylight outside (who was she kidding, she wasn't going to sleep in until her kids were in college. Or at least teenagers). But then she'd miss the fun and the magic of Christmas with a three year old and a four year old, and having their entire family around.

The magic of Santa was only going to last for so long, and she was going to be awake to witness it.


	22. Chapter 22

**Baby Its Cold Outside**

Their neighbourhood was famous for their Christmas lights, and Jesse was totally cool with that, because that meant he had an actual reason to prop the ladder up in the snow and scale the side of the house to decorate for the silly season.

(Not that he needed a reason; it just sounded better when he was telling Beca about it.)

When he was a child, his parents would walk around their neighbourhood with him, letting him look at all the different houses.

Much to his surprise, Beca's parents had done the same thing, only they had bundled her into the back of the car ("probably because you're so tiny you'd freeze in the elements" "Jesus Swanson, we were looking at Christmas lights not camping with Bear Grylls").

Every year, he and Beca would walk around the streets of their neighbourhood, rugged up to stay warm in the frosty winter air.

"Every year you say this is a good idea", Beca said through chattering teeth, and Jesse rubbed her arms a little. "And every year this is not!"

"It's the best, Beca!" he protested. "Want to go and get a hot chocolate?"

"I want to get into the bath with something strongly alcoholic that'll warm me through".

"Hot chocolate it is!"

As they walked to the tiny little diner, hidden underneath the mounds of decorations out the front, Jesse sang. He was the world's biggest Christmas caroller, and he ranged from children's carols (Jingle Bells was his favourite) to traditional classics (he could sing the hell out of Silent Night).

That night, it was Baby Its Cold Outside.

(He was singing both parts in the hope of Beca joining him for a duet.)

"you're such a weirdo", Beca groaned, pushing the door to the diner open and trying her best to ignore the man she had chosen to marry.

"Oh baby its cold outside!" he sang, making the lady at the counter laugh.


End file.
